> I started my first software job out of college in July of 2023. In January 2026, two and a half years later, I secured my second promotion, earning the title of Senior Software Engineer.

> certainly there are hard lessons that I have yet to learn in my career - but my company does not hand that title out like candy

> had (and still have) an excellent mentor <..> he had just been promoted to Senior SE. He was two years out of school himself.

I'm sure OP is a great engineer, and earned their promotion (genuinely, I am). But it sounds like his company hands out titles like candy.

As others have said titles are meaningless but I've worked with enough recruiters to know that they do have some sway on non-technical people..